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The initial online search spurring a raid on a Kansas paper was legal, a state agency says

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:52:49 GMT

MARION, Kan. (AP) — The initial online search of a state website that led a central Kansas police chief to raid a local weekly newspaper was legal, a spokesperson for the agency that maintains the site said Monday, as the newspaper remains under investigation.Earlier this month, after a local restaurant owner accused the Marion County Record of illegally accessing information about her, the Marion police chief obtained warrants to search the newspaper’s offices and the home of its publisher, as well as the home of a City Council member who also accessed the driver’s license database. The police chief led the Aug. 11 raids and said in the affidavits used to obtain the warrants that he had probable cause to believe that the newspaper and the City Council member had violated state laws against identity theft or computer crimes.Both the City Council member and the newspaper have said they received a copy of the document about the status of the restaurant owner’s license with...

Two lawyers barred from practising in Manitoba judge-followed case

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:52:49 GMT

WINNIPEG — The Law Society of Manitoba has barred two Alberta lawyers from practising in the province and ordered them to pay $5,000 after receiving complaints they hired a private investigator to surveil a judge who was hearing a case involving COVID-19 public health orders.John Carpay, president of the Calgary-based Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, and Randal Jay Cameron faced charges from the independent regulator, including undermining public respect for the administration of justice and breach of integrity.Ayli Klein, the law society’s counsel, said Carpay and Cameron’s actions brought the administration of justice into disrepute and that banning them from practising was the most serious penalty available.  Lawyers for the two men say they never meant to interfere with a case before the courts. Both men represented several churches that attempted in 2021 to overturn Manitoba public health orders that prevented in-person religious services during the heigh...

Quebec community mourns four family members killed in home construction accident

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:52:49 GMT

MONTREAL — A rural community in Quebec’s Bas-St-Laurent region was in mourning on Monday after four family members died in a tragic home construction accident over the weekend.Investigators said two men and two women were atop a scissor lift on Saturday in St-Léandre, Que., when the device toppled for an unknown reason.Sixty-year-old Marco Roy and 53-year-old Jocelyne Bouchard were killed, as were 27-year-old Émerik Chenard and 24-year-old Kim Blouin.Police said the older two victims came from Rivière-du-Loup, 200 kilometres northeast of Quebec City, and that the younger two were from St-Léandre, a town of less than 400 people, about 400 kilometres northeast of the provincial capital.St-Léandre Mayor Steve Castonguay said on Facebook that the entire town is in shock and is mourning the victims.“There are no words to express the pain of this tragedy that takes our breath away,” the mayor’s message said.“The municipality of St-Léandre is in shock. We can ...

John Warnock, who helped invent the PDF and co-founded Adobe Systems, dies at age 82

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:52:49 GMT

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — John Warnock, who helped invent the PDF and co-founded Adobe Systems, has died. He was 82.The Silicon Valley entrepreneur and computer scientist died Saturday surrounded by family, Adobe said in a statement. The company didn’t give a cause of death or say where Warnock died.“John’s brilliance and innovations left an indelible mark on Adobe, the technology industry and the world,” Adobe said.Warnock worked for Xerox before he and colleague Charles Geschke created a company around a rejected idea in 1982. Nearly a decade later, Warnock outlined an early version of the Portable Document Format, or PDF, transforming the way documents are exchanged. Originally from the Salt Lake City suburb of Holladay, Warnock described himself as an average student who later flourished in mathematics. He earned an undergraduate in math and doctorate in electrical engineering, or computer science, from the University of Utah and maintained close ties with his home state after...

Putin was meant to be at a summit in South Africa this week. Why was he asked to stay away?

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:52:49 GMT

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Vladimir Putin will be the odd one out when leaders from the BRICS economic bloc of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa meet in Johannesburg this week.While all the others are set to attend the meetings in person, Putin will dial in on a video call. The reason? An International Criminal Court arrest warrant issued for the Russian president put summit host South Africa in a sticky situation and ultimately resulted in Putin staying at home.Here’s what is expected when the group of emerging economies holds three days of meetings starting Tuesday in South Africa’s biggest city and financial hub.PUTIN DIALS INAll the leaders from the BRICS countries traditionally attend its summits, and Chinese Premier Xi Jinping is making a rare trip overseas to be at the bloc’s first in-person summit since before the COVID-19 pandemic.But Putin’s indictment by the International Criminal Court in March charging him with war crimes over the removal of child...

Music Review: Turnpike Troubadours back after extended hiatus with resilience – and gratitude

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:52:49 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Turnpike Troubadours, “A Cat in the Rain” (Bossier City Records/Thirty Tigers)When a band steps aside just as it appears to be peaking, it sets itself up for a unique challenge. That’s what the Turnpike Troubadours did a few years ago, taking a hiatus to deal with personal challenges after their first five albums had turned them from an Oklahoma roadhouse band into a phenomenon. But the Troubadours are back with “A Cat in the Rain,” their first new album since 2017. And they’ve returned with the kind of ferocity that feels destined to put them right back on that long-term upward trajectory.The album combines the Troubadours’ signature blend of country and rock — the tight sound built around the plaintive singing and vulnerable lyrics of front-man Evan Felker — with a new message of resilience and gratitude. The fresh material will only endear them to their extremely devoted fans, and it’s compelling enough to introduce a really good ba...

Cyprus rescues 115 Syrian migrants aboard 3 separate boats over the last three days

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:52:49 GMT

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus police on Monday rescued 18 Syrian migrants after their boat started taking on water some 3.5 miles off the Mediterranean island nation’s southeastern coast.Police said the 11 men, three unescorted minors, one woman and her three children had set sail from Tartus, Syria and were brought ashore aboard a police patrol vessel.State-run Cyprus News Agency reported that the woman and her children were taken to the hospital after one of the kids had fainted. The migrants’ boat reportedly sank.The remaining 14 migrants were taken to a reception center on the western fringes of the capital, Nicosia. A 23-year-old man was taken into custody on suspicion of facilitating illegal entry, police said.The latest rescue comes after police rescued another 97 Syrian migrants aboard two boats over the last 72 hours.Police said they intercepted on Sunday a 40-foot boat with 57 men, six women and 23 children aboard some 14 miles off the island’s southeastern coast. All 86 p...

A right-wing sheriffs group that challenges federal law is gaining acceptance around the country

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:52:49 GMT

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — Against the background hum of the convention center, Dar Leaf settled into a club chair to explain the sacred mission of America’s sheriffs, his bright blue eyes and warm smile belying the intensity of the cause.“The sheriff is supposed to be protecting the public from evil,” the chief law enforcement officer for Barry County, Michigan, said during a break in the National Sheriffs’ Association 2023 conference in June. “When your government is evil or out of line, that’s what the sheriff is there for, protecting them from that.”Leaf is on the advisory board of the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, founded in 2011 by former Arizona sheriff Richard Mack. The group, known as CSPOA, teaches that elected sheriffs must “protect their citizens from the overreach of an out-of-control federal government” by refusing to enforce any law they deem unconstitutional or “unjust.”“The safest way to actually achieve that is to have local law enforcemen...

Wildfire fight switches from defence to offence near Yellowknife

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:52:49 GMT

YELLOWKNIFE — Firefighters battling a wildfire near the capital of the Northwest Territories are shifting from defence to offence after a weekend of cooler temperatures, favourable winds and some rain.Fire information officer Mike Westwick says teams in Yellowknife had been focused on trying to stop the fire’s spread or reduce its intensity.Starting today, crews are working to extinguish the flames along the fire’s front line. The blaze remains about 15 kilometres from the city of 20,000 people, which was evacuated last week except for emergency workers. Other fires are much closer to the communities of Hay River and Fort Smith in the south of the territory.Flames are about four kilometres away from Fort Smith, and hotter temperatures and unfavourable winds are expected to create a tough day for firefighters. Westwick says almost 600 firefighters are in the field, backed up by dozens of helicopters, air tankers and pieces of heavy equipment. Meanwhile, more soldiers are ...

Female soldiers in Army special operations face rampant sexism and harassment, military report says

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:52:49 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Female soldiers face rampant sexism, harassment and other gender-related challenges in male dominated Army special operations units, according to a report Monday, eight years after the Pentagon opened all combat jobs to women.U.S. Army Special Operations Command, in a lengthy study, reported a wide range of “overtly sexist” comments from male soldiers, including a broad aversion to females serving in commando units. The comments, it said, are “not outliers” but represent a common sentiment that women don’t belong on special operations teams.“The idea that women are equally as physically, mentally and emotionally capable to perform majority of jobs is quite frankly ridiculous,” said one male commenter. Others said they’d quit before serving on a team with a female, and that serving in such a situation it would create problems and jealousy among their wives.The blunt and sometimes crass comments ring familiar to many who have watched the difficult t...